The Sound of a Gunshot
by BlessThisMess1803
Summary: (MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2) This is set in Episode 5, more than likely just a one-shot based on my own choices in-game. I wanted to practice writing, so I decided to put the scene where Arvo shoots Clem into words. Constructive criticism much welcome!


**A/N: So, this is just gonna be a one-shot story. I just want to practice writing a little bit, and decided I would take the scene where Clementine gets shot by Arvo and put it into writing. Nothing much will change, save for a couple of lines possibly omitted. This shouldn't be too long, and I'd really, really love feedback! At the same time, this is just something I've put together at around 1 AM, so you will more than likely find a few mistakes. Feel free to point them out, anyways. Thanks a bunch!**

* * *

 _Tap... Tap... Tap..._

Clementine stirred, furrowing her brows. Something was pulling her out of her own dreams, and back into the harsh winter around her. Finally snapping her eyes open, Clem raised her head, still groggy.

She looked up, and the rest of her body followed suite. Driven by a cautious curiosity, the girl found herself walking from one end of the silent, half-built house to the other. There was the noise again. It appeared to be something tapping against the window; most likely a rope.

Pausing for a moment, Clementine rubbed her eyes childishly, helping to rid them of the sleep that she had just left. Now that she had found the source of this noise, she could probably rest easy now. Of course, that wouldn't be the case. Being herself, Clem had to look at it from the outside of the house. Just to be sure. Better safe than sorry, isn't it?

With that very thought in mind, the eleven-year-old wordlessly opened the back door, and into the windchill that would await.

As the door closed behind her, she laid her eyes on the source of the pestering noise from before: an old rope, tossed around in the wind. Clementine almost had it in her to glare at it, but something else distracted her.

It sounded like a truck door opening; the same truck door from yesterday. Her stomach dropped, and her golden eyes widened. Something was happening, and it most likely wasn't good. Gazing towards the truck now, she descended the stairs silently. There were two figures near the open driver's side door. It looked like... Mike? What was he doing with the truck? Was that Arvo with him?

Clementine was scared. This couldn't mean any good. What if they weren't Mike and Arvo? ...What if they were? Either way, she pulled her handgun. This was bad.

The whispering amongst the two figures ceased. One of them had looked back and noticed the little girl. It was confirmed, that was definitely Arvo, with those broken glasses and his bruised face. Kenny had done a number on him the day before.

Before she knew it however, the young Russian had a rifle pointed at her, with a mean glare on-top of it. With a now-quickened breath, Clementine showed no intent of lowering her own pistol. It was a standoff, and she didn't even know what was happening.

The second figure had looked back by now, and Clem pried her eyes off of Arvo to recognize it. Mike stood beside him, and Clementine's subconscious glare softened. He looked guilty.

"Easy. Easy, now." Mike took a step forward as he spoke, attempting to approach the little girl with the gun.

"Step back." Came Clementine's short response, leaning a bit forwards. Internally, she was more than a little bit panicked; she didn't want to have to shoot anybody. Would she even have it in her?

"Clem," Mike halted in compliance, then looking down and muttering to himself. "Shit."

"What are you doing?" Curiosity became fear for Clementine, and she still didn't know what was going on.

Another hushed voice came from the girl's left. It sounded like... Bonnie?

"I got the rest of it." Was her voice, as low as a whisper. She held a duffel bag. It looked like the same one the group had found in the house yesterday. Clementine then began to piece together what was happening, just as Bonnie noticed her with a hushed gasp. "Clem...?"

Without realizing that she had began to point it away, Clementine brought her gun back to aim at the now trio. Betrayal began to enter her bright, golden eyes, her expression saddened. It only took them a second before Mike started to try and reason.

"We're just leaving." Silence followed that, and for a good few seconds. Clementine didn't even know what to say. This was hopefully just a bad dream, but she knew that with her luck, that wouldn't be the case. "Now keep it down, alright?"

Mike's words did nothing to lower Clementine's pistol. "That's everything we have." Came her voice in reply, a mixture of hurt and fear accompanied it. They were really doing this, weren't they?

"Listen," Mike spoke up from a brief silence. He still sounded guilty. "We just gotta get away from that guy, Clem. Okay?"

Clementine glanced back to the house behind her, then back to the trio with the truck infront of her. Every bit of food they had was with them. Every bit of food that would help them take care of the newborn AJ, and they still would take it?

"Who?" Clementine already knew the answer to that question. "Kenny?"

"Clem, dammit, just... We don't have time for this." Mike rushed, his voice raising above the whisper that he held prior.

"Just... just be quiet, Clem. Please." Bonnie spoke up now, taking a single step forward and raising her hand. She looked guilty, too.

A long silence ensued. Clementine still couldn't believe they were doing this, and all while they would have been asleep, too. At the very least, Jane wasn't leaving with them. Nor were they taking little AJ. Glancing at the ground forlornly, Mike finally dropped the bag of supplies he carried.

"Alright, Clem." He sighed. Clementine noticed Arvo's unsure look in the back, flickering between his glare. Her eyes swapped back to Mike however. He had begun walking towards her, very slowly and with his hand held out. "Now I'm gonna walk up to you nice and slow, and you're gonna give me the gun, okay?"

Instead of threatening him, Clementine stared into Mike's eyes. "Why are you doing this?" Came her soft voice.

"He didn't give us any choice." The man in the sweatshirt replied. Clem glanced at his bandaged arm, where he had been shot a couple days earlier. Was what he said true? After all they had been through together? They would fall apart like this?

Arvo spat on the ground, muttering something foreign to Clementine's ears. He still held that menacing rifle, and that may have been the only reason behind why the little girl still held her gun.

She looked to Bonnie for... something. Help? No, that probably wouldn't come from her, but Bonnie noticed her look nonetheless.

"I'm... sorry, Clem." She was sad as well, Clementine could see. But then why would they still do this?

"Just give me the gun, Clem." The man spoke softly, quickly regaining the girl's attention. He was much closer now. "There we go..."

She couldn't. Clementine couldn't. The child didn't have it in her to pull that trigger, especially not while pointing at someone that she knew. Her shoulders lowered, and she let out a submissive sigh before lowering her pistol. With an arm still outstretched, she took a couple tired steps towards Mike. Before she knew it, Clem had dropped the pistol into his hand as he stood infront of her, though she still carried the same despondent look. What would happen now?

Noticing this, Mike piped up, trying to appear friendly to the little girl. "It's fine, just-"

 _ **BANG!**_

Before Clementine could react to the deafening noise, a force akin to a semi-truck smashed into her left shoulder, and quickly out the back of it. Letting out a little yelp, she promptly collapsed. The only feeling she could focus on was that of the warm blood that splattered around and out of her, accompanied by the sight of the sky above her.

"No!" Mike roared, wide-eyed and suddenly concerned for the girl's life. Did Arvo just... shoot her? Even after she gave Mike her gun?

Mike could only spare the young Russian a glance while he ran off before kneeling down beside the girl, shaking his head in denial. Clementine was staring, wide-eyed up at them as Bonnie had now rushed to her side. Her puffy jacket quickly became wet and red, and her vision blurred as the pain set in.

"Oh, my God. Clem... Clem!" Bonnie's familiar voice reached Clementine's ears, but she could do little but lay there in the snow, hyperventilating and bleeding. The girl could make out her scared face. Mike wore the same expression, too.

"Bonnie! We have to go!" He spoke hurriedly, trying to grab the red-haired woman by the arm. She promptly jerked it away, glaring at him.

"Don't you touch me!" She knelt infront of Clem, shaking her head slightly. "I'm... I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean for this to happen!"

Clementine could only stare back up. She was scared, and hadn't been as much so in a very long time. This was it for her; it had to be. Bleeding out, blurry vision, pain overcoming every bit of her body. Soon she would pass out, and she would be dead. It was almost certain.

At the edge of her hearing, she could hear a door hastily open. "Oh, my God, Clem!" It was Kenny. The gunshot woke him up, but she couldn't see him. She wouldn't see him one last time before she died? "What the FUCK did you DO?!" In little more than the blink of an eye, Bonnie and Mike both turned heel and ran. Clementine heard footsteps rushing up from behind her, but she still couldn't see. "Clem!" It was all fading away now, and Clem couldn't be more scared. "What did you DO?!" After all this, she wouldn't even get to say goodbye... "Clem!" She could have prevented this. That thought ran through her pain-clouded mind, while it all became a blur of colors infront of her.

"CLEM!"


End file.
